Kailh Box Ice Cream Pro Keyboard Switches,Dark Chocolate Pre-Lubed Linear 5-pin 55gf RGB All POM Switch for Mechanical Keyboard(Dark Chocolate 45P...

The Kailh Box dark chocolate switches are good and thocky. They are not quite creamy, but they offer a nice sound. At 55g, these are on the heavier side, like the old pandas. I put these on my old first-generation DROP CTRL, and they sound great. One of them was DOA. Not sure why, but it was just one. Overall, these are great if you want a heavy switch that has some good thoock.

I mixed these in with the reds on my keyboard to see the difference. These switches are barely louder in normal typing with a slightly different sound. There is definitely a noticeable click at the end of travel even when pressing as lightly as possible, whereas the reds are basically silent in that situation. These are also very stable with very little wobble, less than the reds I am using. The action is very smooth, but it has a longer pre-travel and requires more force than the reds. I actually like the longer pre-travel/force, as I have big hands and find myself sometimes accidentally triggering the reds when I have my hands resting on the keyboard. These seem like a good alternative to a red switch if you want a linear feel with a little extra feedback.

The media could not be loaded. I tried to find a video of the sound everywhere, and had no luck. So I hope my video helps the next shopper with their decision! Because i've never heard of these type of switches before, I took a gamble on getting them hoping I didn't dislike them. Fortunately, these sound really good! The typing in the video applies to the few keys I have installed the switches in (on a Clix Matrix "Demon Mode" keyboard for scale). If you can maybe see the slight difference in RGB brightness, it's because these are not really RGB oriented. Therefore, if you're planning on putting these in an RGB keyboard, it's better to also swap out keycaps with no shine through. These look a bit dimming on the shine-through caps. If I can compare these to another well-known switch, i'd say they have the sound and actuation force of linear blacks. Linear black is one of my favorite linear switches, so these are well suitable for my keyboard taste.

The media could not be loaded. I really like these Kailh Dark Chocolates. They are loud, with a clacky, marbly sound profile. I don't notice any other stray sounds, meaning the factory lubing is decent. They are fairly heavy with a strong, lively rebound. I appreciate the circular stem which virtually eliminates stem wobble. They are stable and feel very well constructed. I notice the backlight LEDs are a little dimmer behind these switches due to the opaque upper housing. The light diffuser window works to mitigate this issue and lets a good amount of light through. I like the way these switches look installed in the keyboard. They have a premium, gem-like appearance. This isnt very important, as the switches are covered by the keycaps, but its a nice detail. The Dark Chocolates fit easily into the keyboard, but the stems tight grip on the keycap means that some of these switches like to pop out when you are trying to only pull the keycap. This can make replacing keycaps annoying. $50 for 90 switches comes out to be about $0.56 per switch, which feels like a fair value, especially given some other switches Ive tried recently that were of a similar quality and were about $0.74 per switch. I definitely recommend these switches to anyone looking for a smooth, clacky linear. In the video, I compare these Kailh Dark Chocolates (top) to Gateron G Pro reds (middle) and the Outemu white linears that came stock in my keyboard (bottom). The keyboard is an entry-level, gasket mounted board with foam layers inside.